US Code (Unofficial compilation from the Legal Information Institute) TITLE 2 - THE CONGRESS CHAPTER 1 ELECTION OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES Please Note: This compilation of the US Code, current as of Jan. 4, 2012, has been prepared by the Legal Information Institute using data from the U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Counsel. It is not an official U.S. government publication. For more details please see: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscprint.html. Notes on this document: The content in this document is taken directly from the US Code, with the following exceptions: page headers and footers, page numbering, and all formatting are artifacts of this presentation. Divider lines have been inserted between sections. The notes are set off by a vertical line and a larger left margin. The table of contents immediately following this title page is machine-generated from the headings in this portion of the Code. Commonly available fonts are used. The Legal Information Institute promotes worldwide, free public access to law via the Internet. Founded in 1992, the LII created the first legal information website. It continues to be a pre-eminent "law-not-com" publisher of legal information and an important outreach activity of the Cornell Law School.
TITLE 2 - THE CONGRESS 1 CHAPTER 1 - ELECTION OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES 2 1. Time for election of Senators 2 1a. Election to be certified by governor 2 1b. Countersignature of certificate of election 3 2. Omitted 3 2a. Reapportionment of Representatives; time and manner; existing decennial census figures as basis; statement by President; duty of clerk 3 2b. Number of Representatives from each State in 78th and subsequent Congresses 4 2c. Number of Congressional Districts; number of Representatives from each District 4 3, 4. Omitted 5 5. Nominations for Representatives at large 5 6. Reduction of representation 5 7. Time of election 5 8. Vacancies 6 9. Voting for Representatives 9 - ii -
TITLE 2 THE CONGRESS TITLE 2 THE CONGRESS Chap....Sec. 1. Election of Senators and Representatives...1 2. Organization of Congress...21 3. Compensation and Allowances of Members...31 4. Officers and Employees of Senate and House of Representatives...60 5. Library of Congress...131 6. Congressional and Committee Procedure; Investigations...190 7. Contested Elections [Repealed]...201 8. Federal Corrupt Practices [Repealed]...241 8A. Regulation of Lobbying [Repealed]...261 9. Office of Legislative Counsel...271 9A. Office of Law Revision Counsel...285 9B. Legislative Classification Office [Repealed]...286 9C. Office of Parliamentarian of House of Representatives...287 9D. Office of Senate Legal Counsel...288 10. Classification of Employees of House of Representatives...291 10A. Payroll Administration in House of Representatives...331 11. Citizens Commission on Public Service and Compensation...351 12. Contested Elections...381 13. Joint Committee on Congressional Operations [Repealed]...411 14. Federal Election Campaigns...431 15. Office of Technology Assessment...471 16. Congressional Mailing Standards...501 17. Congressional Budget Office...601 17A. Congressional Budget and Fiscal Operations...621 17B. Impoundment Control...681 18. Legislative Personnel Financial Disclosure Requirements [Transferred]...701 19. Congressional Award Program...801 19A. John Heinz Competitive Excellence Award...831 20. Emergency Powers To Eliminate Budget Deficits...900 20A. Statutory Pay-as-You-Go...931 21. Civic Achievement Award Program in Honor of Office of Speaker of House of Representatives [Repealed]...1001 22. John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development...1101 22A. Open World Leadership Center...1151 22B. Hunger Fellowship Program...1161 23. Government Employee Rights [Transferred or Repealed]...1201 24. Congressional Accountability...1301 25. Unfunded Mandates Reform...1501 26. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities...1601 27. Sound Recording Preservation by the Library of Congress...1701 28. Architect of the Capitol...1801 29. Capitol Police...1901 30. Operation and Maintenance of Capitol Complex...2001 31. Capitol Visitor Center...2201-1 -
TITLE 2 - Section 1 - Time for election of Senators CHAPTER 1 ELECTION OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES Sec. 1. Time for election of Senators. 1a. Election to be certified by governor. 1b. Countersignature of certificate of election. 2. Omitted. 2a. Reapportionment of Representatives; time and manner; existing decennial census figures as basis; statement by President; duty of clerk. 2b. Number of Representatives from each State in 78th and subsequent Congresses. 2c. Number of Congressional Districts; number of Representatives from each District. 3, 4. Omitted. 5. Nominations for Representatives at large. 6. Reduction of representation. 7. Time of election. 8. Vacancies. 9. Voting for Representatives. 1. Time for election of Senators At the regular election held in any State next preceding the expiration of the term for which any Senator was elected to represent such State in Congress, at which election a Representative to Congress is regularly by law to be chosen, a United States Senator from said State shall be elected by the people thereof for the term commencing on the 3d day of January next thereafter. (June 4, 1914, ch. 103, 1, 38 Stat. 384; June 5, 1934, ch. 390, 3, 48 Stat. 879.) Amendments 1934 Act June 5, 1934, substituted 3d day of January for fourth day of March. Constitutional Provisions The first section of Amendment XX to the Constitution provides in part: * * * the terms of Senators and Representatives [shall end] at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin. Time for election of Senators, see Const. Art. I, 4, cl. 1. Vacancies in the Senate, see Const. Amend. XVII. 1a. Election to be certified by governor It shall be the duty of the executive of the State from which any Senator has been chosen to certify his election, under the seal of the State, to the President of the Senate of the United States. (R.S. 18.) R.S. 18 derived from act July 25, 1866, ch. 245, 3, 14 Stat. 244. - 2 -
TITLE 2 - Section 2 - Omitted 1b. Countersignature of certificate of election The certificate mentioned in section 1a of this title shall be countersigned by the secretary of state of the State. (R.S. 19.) 2. Omitted R.S. 19 derived from act July 25, 1866, ch. 245, 3, 14 Stat. 244. Section, act Aug. 8, 1911, ch. 5, 1, 2, 37 Stat. 13, 14, fixed composition of House of Representatives at 435 Members, to be apportioned to the States therein enumerated. For provisions dealing with reapportionment of Representatives and manner of election, etc., see sections 2a and 2b of this title. 2a. Reapportionment of Representatives; time and manner; existing decennial census figures as basis; statement by President; duty of clerk (a) On the first day, or within one week thereafter, of the first regular session of the Eighty-second Congress and of each fifth Congress thereafter, the President shall transmit to the Congress a statement showing the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed, as ascertained under the seventeenth and each subsequent decennial census of the population, and the number of Representatives to which each State would be entitled under an apportionment of the then existing number of Representatives by the method known as the method of equal proportions, no State to receive less than one Member. (b) Each State shall be entitled, in the Eighty-third Congress and in each Congress thereafter until the taking effect of a reapportionment under this section or subsequent statute, to the number of Representatives shown in the statement required by subsection (a) of this section, no State to receive less than one Member. It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, within fifteen calendar days after the receipt of such statement, to send to the executive of each State a certificate of the number of Representatives to which such State is entitled under this section. In case of a vacancy in the office of Clerk, or of his absence or inability to discharge this duty, then such duty shall devolve upon the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives. (c) Until a State is redistricted in the manner provided by the law thereof after any apportionment, the Representatives to which such State is entitled under such apportionment shall be elected in the following manner: (1) If there is no change in the number of Representatives, they shall be elected from the districts then prescribed by the law of such State, and if any of them are elected from the State at large they shall continue to be so elected; (2) if there is an increase in the number of Representatives, such additional Representative or Representatives shall be elected from the State at large and the other Representatives from the districts then prescribed by the law of such State; (3) if there is a decrease in the number of Representatives but the number of districts in such State is equal to such decreased number of Representatives, they shall be elected from the districts then prescribed by the law of such State; - 3 -
TITLE 2 - Section 2b - Number of Representatives from each State in 78th and subsequent... (4) if there is a decrease in the number of Representatives but the number of districts in such State is less than such number of Representatives, the number of Representatives by which such number of districts is exceeded shall be elected from the State at large and the other Representatives from the districts then prescribed by the law of such State; or (5) if there is a decrease in the number of Representatives and the number of districts in such State exceeds such decreased number of Representatives, they shall be elected from the State at large. (June 18, 1929, ch. 28, 22, 46 Stat. 26; Apr. 25, 1940, ch. 152, 54 Stat. 162; Nov. 15, 1941, ch. 470, 1, 55 Stat. 761; Pub. L. 104 186, title II, 201, Aug. 20, 1996, 110 Stat. 1724.) Amendments 1996 Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104 186 struck out at end ; and in case of vacancies in the offices of both the Clerk and the Sergeant at Arms, or the absence or inability of both to act, such duty shall devolve upon the Doorkeeper of the House of Representatives. 1941 Act Nov. 15, 1941, provided for reapportionment based on seventeenth and subsequent decennial censuses. 1940 Act Apr. 25, 1940, provided for reapportionment based on sixteenth decennial census. Termination of Reporting Requirements For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions of law requiring submittal to Congress of any annual, semiannual, or other regular periodic report listed in House Document No. 103 7 (in which the report required by subsec. (a) of this section is listed on page 17), see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104 66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance. Constitutional Provisions Apportionment of Representatives among the several States, see Const. Art. I, 2, cl. 3, and Amend. XIV, 2. Temporary Increase in Membership Representation of States of Alaska and Hawaii in House of Representatives as not affecting basis of apportionment established by this section, see section 9 of Pub. L. 85 508, July 7, 1958, 72 Stat. 339, set out as a note preceding section 21 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions, and section 8 of Pub. L. 86 3, Mar. 18, 1959, 73 Stat. 4, set out as a note preceding section 491 of Title 48. 2b. Number of Representatives from each State in 78th and subsequent Congresses Each State shall be entitled, in the Seventy-eighth and in each Congress thereafter until the taking effect of a reapportionment under a subsequent statute or section 2a of this title, to the number of Representatives shown in the statement transmitted to the Congress on January 8, 1941, based upon the method known as the method of equal proportions, no State to receive less than one Member. (Nov. 15, 1941, ch. 470, 2(a), 55 Stat. 762.) Certificates to Executives of States Section 2(b) of act Nov. 15, 1941, required Clerk of House of Representatives, within 15 days of Nov. 15, 1941, to send a new certificate of entitlement of a State to Representatives, if such a certificate had been sent prior to Nov. 15, 1941, under provisions of section 2a of this title. 2c. Number of Congressional Districts; number of Representatives from each District In each State entitled in the Ninety-first Congress or in any subsequent Congress thereafter to more than one Representative under an apportionment made pursuant to the provisions of section 2a (a) of this title, there shall be established by law a number of districts equal to the number - 4 -
TITLE 2 - Section 3, 4 - Omitted of Representatives to which such State is so entitled, and Representatives shall be elected only from districts so established, no district to elect more than one Representative (except that a State which is entitled to more than one Representative and which has in all previous elections elected its Representatives at Large may elect its Representatives at Large to the Ninety-first Congress). (Pub. L. 90 196, Dec. 14, 1967, 81 Stat. 581.) 3, 4. Omitted Section 3, act Aug. 8, 1911, ch. 5, 3, 37 Stat. 14, which related to election by districts, expired by its own limitation on enactment of Reapportionment Act of June 18, 1929, ch. 28, 22, 46 Stat. 21 (section 2a of this title). It was not restated in act June 18, 1929, providing for reapportionment under Fifteenth Census, and hence it was not applicable thereto. See Wood v. Broom, 1932 (53 S. Ct. 1, 287 U.S. 1, 77 L. Ed. 131). Section 4, act Aug. 8, 1911, ch. 5, 4, 37 Stat. 14, which related to additional Representatives at large, expired by its own limitation on enactment of Reapportionment Act of June 18, 1929, ch. 28, 22, 46 Stat. 21 (section 2a of this title). It was not restated in act June 18, 1929, providing for reapportionment under Fifteenth Census, and hence it was not applicable thereto. See Wood v. Broom, 1932 (53 S. Ct. 1, 287 U.S. 1, 77 L. Ed. 131). 5. Nominations for Representatives at large Candidates for Representative or Representatives to be elected at large in any State shall be nominated in the same manner as candidates for governor, unless otherwise provided by the laws of such State. (Aug. 8, 1911, ch. 5, 5, 37 Stat. 14.) 6. Reduction of representation Should any State deny or abridge the right of any of the male inhabitants thereof, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, to vote at any election named in the amendment to the Constitution, article 14, section 2, except for participation in the rebellion or other crime, the number of Representatives apportioned to such State shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall have to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. (R.S. 22.) R.S. 22 derived from act Feb. 2, 1872, ch. 11, 6, 17 Stat. 29. 7. Time of election The Tuesday next after the 1st Monday in November, in every even numbered year, is established as the day for the election, in each of the States and Territories of the United States, of Representatives and Delegates to the Congress commencing on the 3d day of January next thereafter. (R.S. 25; Mar. 3, 1875, ch. 130, 6, 18 Stat. 400; June 5, 1934, ch. 390, 2, 48 Stat. 879.) - 5 -
TITLE 2 - Section 8 - Vacancies 8. Vacancies R.S. 25 derived from act Feb. 2, 1872, ch. 11, 3, 17 Stat. 28. The second sentence of this section, which was based on section 6 of the act Mar. 3, 1875 and made this section inapplicable to any State that had not yet changed its day of election and whose constitution required an amendment to change the day of election of its State officers, was omitted. Amendments 1934 Act June 5, 1934, substituted 3d day of January for fourth day of March. Constitutional Provisions The first section of Amendment XX to the Constitution provides: The terms of Senators and Representatives [shall end] at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin. Time for election of Representatives, see Const. Art. I, 4, cl. 1. (a) In general Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the time for holding elections in any State, District, or Territory for a Representative or Delegate to fill a vacancy, whether such vacancy is caused by a failure to elect at the time prescribed by law, or by the death, resignation, or incapacity of a person elected, may be prescribed by the laws of the several States and Territories respectively. (b) Special rules in extraordinary circumstances (1) In general In extraordinary circumstances, the executive authority of any State in which a vacancy exists in its representation in the House of Representatives shall issue a writ of election to fill such vacancy by special election. (2) Timing of special election A special election held under this subsection to fill a vacancy shall take place not later than 49 days after the Speaker of the House of Representatives announces that the vacancy exists, unless, during the 75-day period which begins on the date of the announcement of the vacancy (A) a regularly scheduled general election for the office involved is to be held; or (B) another special election for the office involved is to be held, pursuant to a writ for a special election issued by the chief executive of the State prior to the date of the announcement of the vacancy. (3) Nominations by parties If a special election is to be held under this subsection, the determination of the candidates who will run in such election shall be made (A) by nominations made not later than 10 days after the Speaker announces that the vacancy exists by the political parties of the State that are authorized by State law to nominate candidates for the election; or (B) by any other method the State considers appropriate, including holding primary elections, that will ensure that the State will hold the special election within the deadline required under paragraph (2). (4) Extraordinary circumstances (A) In general - 6 -
TITLE 2 - Section 8 - Vacancies In this subsection, extraordinary circumstances occur when the Speaker of the House of Representatives announces that vacancies in the representation from the States in the House exceed 100. (B) Judicial review If any action is brought for declaratory or injunctive relief to challenge an announcement made under subparagraph (A), the following rules shall apply: (i) Not later than 2 days after the announcement, the action shall be filed in the United States District Court having jurisdiction in the district of the Member of the House of Representatives whose seat has been announced to be vacant and shall be heard by a 3-judge court convened pursuant to section 2284 of title 28. (ii) A copy of the complaint shall be delivered promptly to the Clerk of the House of Representatives. (iii) A final decision in the action shall be made within 3 days of the filing of such action and shall not be reviewable. (iv) The executive authority of the State that contains the district of the Member of the House of Representatives whose seat has been announced to be vacant shall have the right to intervene either in support of or opposition to the position of a party to the case regarding the announcement of such vacancy. (5) Protecting ability of absent military and overseas voters to participate in special elections (A) Deadline for transmittal of absentee ballots In conducting a special election held under this subsection to fill a vacancy in its representation, the State shall ensure to the greatest extent practicable (including through the use of electronic means) that absentee ballots for the election are transmitted to absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters (as such terms are defined in the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act [42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.]) not later than 15 days after the Speaker of the House of Representatives announces that the vacancy exists. (B) Period for ballot transit time Notwithstanding the deadlines referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3), in the case of an individual who is an absent uniformed services voter or an overseas voter (as such terms are defined in the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act), a State shall accept and process any otherwise valid ballot or other election material from the voter so long as the ballot or other material is received by the appropriate State election official not later than 45 days after the State transmits the ballot or other material to the voter. (6) Application to District of Columbia and territories This subsection shall apply (A) to a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress in the same manner as it applies to a Member of the House of Representatives; and (B) to the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands in the same manner as it applies to a State, except that a vacancy in the representation from any such jurisdiction in the House shall not be taken into account by the Speaker in determining whether vacancies in the representation from the States in the House exceed 100 for purposes of paragraph (4)(A). (7) Rule of construction regarding Federal election laws Nothing in this subsection may be construed to affect the application to special elections under this subsection of any Federal law governing the administration of elections for Federal office - 7 -
TITLE 2 - Section 9 - Voting for Representatives (including any law providing for the enforcement of any such law), including, but not limited to, the following: (A) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.), as amended. (B) The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee et seq.), as amended. (C) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.), as amended. (D) The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.), as amended. (E) The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), as amended. (F) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), as amended. (G) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15301 et seq.), as amended. (R.S. 26; Pub. L. 109 55, title III, 301, Aug. 2, 2005, 119 Stat. 588.) References in Text The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(5), (7)(C), is Pub. L. 99 410, Aug. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 924, as amended, which is classified principally to subchapter I G ( 1973ff et seq.) of chapter 20 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1971 of Title 42 and Tables. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (b)(7)(a), is Pub. L. 89 110, Aug. 6, 1965, 79 Stat. 437, as amended, which is classified generally to subchapters I A ( 1973 et seq.), I B ( 1973aa et seq.), and I C ( 1973bb et seq.) of chapter 20 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1971 of Title 42 and Tables. The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(7)(b), is Pub. L. 98 435, Sept. 28, 1984, 98 Stat. 1678, as amended, which is classified generally to subchapter I F ( 1973ee et seq.) of chapter 20 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1971 of Title 42 and Tables. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, referred to in subsec. (b)(7)(d), is Pub. L. 103 31, May 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 77, as amended, which is classified principally to subchapter I H ( 1973gg et seq.) of chapter 20 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1971 of Title 42 and Tables. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, referred to in subsec. (b)(7)(e), is Pub. L. 101 336, July 26, 1990, 104 Stat. 327, as amended, which is classified principally to chapter 126 ( 12101 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 12101 of Title 42 and Tables. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, referred to in subsec. (b)(7)(f), is Pub. L. 93 112, Sept. 26, 1973, 87 Stat. 355, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 16 ( 701 et seq.) of Title 29, Labor. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 701 of Title 29 and Tables. The Help America Vote Act of 2002, referred to in subsec. (b)(7)(g), is Pub. L. 107 252, Oct. 29, 2002, 116 Stat. 1666, which is classified principally to chapter 146 ( 15301 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 15301 of Title 42 and Tables. R.S. 26 derived from act Feb. 2, 1872, ch. 11, 4, 17 Stat. 28. Amendments 2005 Pub. L. 109 55 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, substituted Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the time for The time, and added subsec. (b). Constitutional Provisions Vacancies in the House of Representatives, see Const. Art. I, 2, cl. 4. - 8 -
TITLE 2 - Section 9 - Voting for Representatives 9. Voting for Representatives All votes for Representatives in Congress must be by written or printed ballot, or voting machine the use of which has been duly authorized by the State law; and all votes received or recorded contrary to this section shall be of no effect. (R.S. 27; Feb. 14, 1899, ch. 154, 30 Stat. 836.) R.S. 27 derived from acts Feb. 28, 1871, ch. 99, 19, 16 Stat. 440, and May 30, 1872, ch. 239, 17 Stat. 192. - 9 -